Galvin's sample maps irritate House redistricting chair
BOSTON (SHNS) – In less than two weeks, the U.S. Census Bureau is expected to release detailed population data for Massachusetts that will set off a scramble to begin redrawing the political boundaries for federal, state and local elected offices that will shape the 2022 elections.
Secretary of State William Galvin, in an effort to help local and city and town officials prepare for that task, has been working with municipalities to identify potential shifts in population-based on real estate development and other factors over the past 10 years.
Galvin’s office has gone so far as to present communities with sample maps showing existing precinct lines and how those boundaries could be changed based on population estimates available ahead of the official release of Census data. The effort is an attempt to help local leaders start to think about the decisions they will have to make quickly, his office said.
The secretary’s involvement, however, has inflamed lingering tensions on Beacon Hill with legislative Democrats who earlier this summer chafed at Galvin’s suggestion that lawmakers were trying to rewrite the rules of redistricting to protect incumbents.
Read more: https://www.wwlp.com/news/state-politics/galvins-sample-maps-irritate-house-redistricting-chair/